Fourlis

Bank stocks fell to new lows on Monday, with their index reaching levels unseen since February 2016. The benchmark of the Greek bourse continued to sink closer to the 600-point mark, which is seen as the last line of defense before a more extensive selling spree.

Buyers enjoyed a second day of dominance at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday, bolstered by the upward swing of stock exchanges in Europe and the US, and the recovery of Greek bond prices. The low turnover points to a temporary northward trend, though.

Closing auctions on the Greek stock market helped minimize the rather sizable losses sustained by the benchmark at the start of the trading week on Monday, with bank stocks remaining the focus of sellers due to speculation concerning the exclusion of some of them from the MSCI Standard index for emerging markets.

The benchmark of the Athens bourse managed to top 700 points on Wednesday after 12 sessions below the psychologically important level, as the situation at Folli Follie became clearer and Greek bond yields continued to ease. This time it was non-bank blue chips that drove the main index and turnover higher.

Greek stocks remained under heavy pressure on Thursday, with the benchmark approaching the psychologically significant 700-point mark and closing at the lowest level since mid-November 2017.

The general index fell 1.74 percent to end at 707.77 points.

The large-cap index gave up 1.82 percent and the mid-cap index was down 1.76 percent.

Greek stocks retreated on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) on Wednesday, while turnover was particularly low following a technical glitch.

ATHEX trading was temporarily suspended from 12.45 to 1.40 p.m. due to a general technical problem that affected the price data feed subsystem.

The ATHEX general index ended at 758.04 points, down 0.43 percent from Tuesday's 761.29 points.

Afternoon selling at the Greek stock market offset all of Tuesday morning's gains, leading the main index at Athinon Avenue lower for a fourth consecutive day.

Domestic and international concerns related to diplomatic and trade issues led the majority of stocks to losses at the end of Wednesday's session at Athinon Avenue.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index ended the session at 746.70 points, shedding 1.44 percent from Tuesday's 755.33 points.

The payment of stock dividends at Athinon Avenue, the negative climate on international markets and the increasing devaluation of the market (through the ongoing Folli Follie saga and the loss of buying interest in mid- and small-caps), led to significant losses for the majority of Greek stocks on Thursday.

There was little movement on the local stock exchange on Wednesday as the rises registered by most European markets and the decline of the Greek benchmark bond's yield failed to impress traders. With two sessions left till the end of the year's first half, banks continued to lose ground. The credit sector's stocks have returned to prices below those of their last recapitalization.